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 Merrill Lake, just outside of Cougar, WA feels very remote, despite its relatively close proximity to the Portland/Vancouver area. This campground is best suited for tent camping, as there is only one RV site and sometimes it’s occupied by a camp host.

I met up with some folks who were in tents and occupied the tent spots and spent the night in the parking lot in my van. Several other folks did this as well. You're just a little ways from the campsites that have picnic tables and fire pits. 

The lake is the real attraction here. Great for paddle boarding or kayaking. There's a boat launch. Best of all, it's free!

Snagged a FCFS site at this wonderful Montana state park after reading reviews. So glad I did. Such a nice campground, nice neighbors. Lots of people out on the lake boating. There is a boat launch in the campground. Snow covered peaks still visible in late June. 

Not a lot of shade due to beetle infestation. But wasn't an issue in June. All boats, including inflatable kayaks need to be inspected at a Montana inspection station before launching in the water

I loved it here. Wish I'd stayed longer than one night.

I arrived a little early and my site was still occupied. The camphost suggested I go under the high way a few hundred yards away to Beavertail Hill Pond. Was a sweet little spot with lots of locals kayaking and fishing from the shore. There's a trail all the way around.

The campground itself is close to the Clark Fork River and there are several places to access it from the campground. The river was pretty swift in June. 

I paid $44 for an electric site. It had plenty of privacy and plenty of shade. There was a place to ride my bike and a sweet walking trail through the campground. Not a bad place to stop for a day/night.

I love Flathead Lake and this campground was wonderful. A lot of the sites are pretty tightly packed together and we lucked out by getting this RV site that was right on the lake and separate from the other campers.

We had a wall to sit on and look out at the water. Too cold for me to swim, but my brother jumped in. It was a perfect peaceful spot to hang out for 24 hours. 

An eagle came and sat in a tree next to us for hours. 

This is a place I will return to, for sure!

We had a beautiful spot that backed right up to the lake. Snagged this site last minute when I realized Glacier didn't have first come, first serve campsites. It was a tight squeeze for my 20 foot van and I had to use my levelers, but to be right on a Lake McDonald in Glacier National Park--so worth it!

No hook ups of any kind. Mostly tent campers. Could walk right down to the lake from our campsite, but it was too cold to swim or kayak.

Didn't stay here, but would have if we could have gotten a site. Stopped in for a short hike around and through the campground.  The sites look kind of tight and not very level, but any time you can camp on Flathead Lake is a good day.

It's a campground. The real attraction is Glacier National Park. I was lucky enough to visit when Going to the Sun Road was closed to cars and we could ride our bikes to the top. It was the highlight of my trip. That, and seeing a grizzly bear from the safety of our van. 

It was damp and rainy while we were there. No hook ups in the campground. Generators allowed except during quiet hours. 

This campground is close to Lake McDonald and there's boat rentals nearby.

Cool

This campground was a nice surprise, right off the highway. Lots of tall ponderosa pines, but also plenty of sun to put the solar panels out for charging.

No hook-ups, but lots of water fill stations and picnic tables at each site. Plenty of Verizon bars to work. I believe there was a dump station. 

Nice size, paved sites. Level. 

Nice camp hosts. A short hike right off the campground and the river was running pretty fast down below. You could see the river, but don't think you can access it from the campground. 

Definitely worth a stop for a weary traveler!

This lake is purported to have healing powers, so why not stop for a night and take a dip? There were just a few sites, right up on the lake with power and water. The shower house was a bit grungy. Had to call a number that was posted on the bathhouse to make your reservation. 

The lake was pretty and calm when I arrived and a big rainy/windy storm blew in overnight that shook the van. 

The biggest downside was my neighbors a few sites down looked like they were living there and had all kinds of traffic and visitors all night long. I suspected drug activity and wished there had been a camp host for this price.

I appreciate the green in this park, but hate that the sprinklers have to be running almost non-stop to keep it that way. The noise of them scared my cat. 

Tried to check in early, but was not allowed. Hung out in the day-use area. 

The sites were big and some nice trees. 

Electric, but no water. Was told to fill up jugs at the faucets scattered around the park. The water was disgusting! I filled one jug and it came out a light brown color. The park host saw the expression on my face and came over to tell me the water is tested every day and is safe to drink. Safe or not, I was not about the drink that. 

There's a nice walk around a pond in the back of the campground. Overall, a decent place to stay if you're in the area, but not my favorite.

The road up to this campground is VERY steep--definitely smelled my brakes on the way down. But that's the only downside to this nice FREE campground just outside of LaGrande, OR. 

I had the whole place to myself mid-week in May. You're up high, so beautiful view of the sky. It's an easy walk around the lake and non-motorized boats are allowed. Locals fish here. 

I only stayed one night, but wish I had planned for more.

This is a large COE campground near, but not close to the lake.

When I checked in to Juniper loop, the host told me the water was far and I needed a long hose. I have just come off a week of Boondocking I’m only just wanted water electric and shower. there’s absolutely no water at the site. All the outer campsites in that loop have no water. The inner loop does have water but not all of the hook ups are even close to the sites. There was no way I could run a hose to my camper. I filled up my water jugs and thought I would just call it good, and went to take a shower. Well the shower houses in that loop were closed. I was dealing with a foot injury and did not want to be schleping all over to find water and shower. The best part of my experience what is the camp hosts who were very understanding and helped me get into a new site. I would also note that the lake is very far away from the campground. 

So nice to have first come/first serve campgrounds so close to Portland. I arrived around 2 on a Wednesday in August and grabbed one of 3 open sites. (There are group sites also that were FCFS, but they cost more.) 

I'd read about the hiking trail right outside the campground, but was super stoked to find a paved off-road bike trail. I took it 6 miles up to Venieto State Park.  Along the highway, but still very pretty. Waterfalls and great scenery!

Yes, you can hear the highway from the sites. Lots of trees, though and lots of privacy. No hook ups. Decent Verizon coverage.

I've passed this site a few times and have used the day use area. Finally decided to camp and so glad I did. Yes, there are trains running through, but they did not bother me. Adjacent to the RV park is a tent site for hikers on the PCT. I loved seeing and chatting with the hikers.  

There is no privacy between sites, but the scenery is gorgeous. Right on the Columbia River. The sites are level with water and electric and a dump station. A nice Island to walk around on. There was even wifi that worked! I think the first time I've ever been able to utilize Wifi at a campground. I loved this place. Paid $41 for one night.

My first time really exploring the Gorge since the fires of 2017. Lots of signs of the burn, but the campground seems untouched. Spent one night here on a hot August day. Power and water was nice to run the AC and also dump my tanks. Showers were decent. No camp host on duty, but the rangers came through a few times. 

The sites were mostly pull through. I reserved in advance, but there are some FCFS sites. You do need a reservation to drive into this area of the Gorge and a reservation at the campground counts, so not sure how the FCFS would work. 

I would have stayed longer, but terrible cell signal.

Came here for one night, a quick one hour drive from Portland. When I arrived on a Sunday afternoon, the campground was mostly empty and the day use area was packed. Some sites are reservation and others are FCFS.  There's a great waterfall, swimming hole about a quarter mile walk from the campground. Lots of families were out having a great time swimming, jumping from the rocks and picnicking.

I had a reservation for site #7, but ended up moving to #6 because it was nicer and empty. No one came around to check my reservation. Only 3 other campers were in the campground on a hot August day. All of the sites are pull-though. My site was overlooking the river, but there is no safe way down to the river from any of the campsites, that I could tell. There is a path to the river near the parking area, but the real attraction here is the day use area. 

The day use area was totally empty and surprisingly clean the morning after being super crowded with swimmers. Saw some tiny frogs and tadpoles in the rocks. 

The only bummer was the camp staff were making a lot of noise mowing and blowing Monday morning. I guess that's too be expected, but I was hoping to hang out and listen to the river at my site before I left and it wasn't pleasant. 

It's a beautiful place and would have stayed another night if there was any cell reception. No Verizon. No ATT. 

Used my new PRO account for the first time for some offline research!

Came up here mid week with a reservation for one night. Was lucky that there was a cancelation and got 2 nights.

The first night in site 38. Great site. Lots of shade. Lots of room. Pretty private. No real view of the lake.

Second night in site 41, which was roomy, but the drive was kind of steep. Would be good for a tent. No vehicle longer than mine (20 feet) would really be able to be flat. I had to use my levelers. No privacy and no shade. 

But who cares about that? The attraction here is the lake and the lake is amazing. Warm enough for swimming. Despite the full campgrounds all around, it was easy to find a private spot to lounge by the lake for hours. 

Smoke from wildfires made it a bit hazy during my visit, but I think there's normally an amazing view of Mt Hood from the lake. Definitely want to come back here again!

This was a great camping spot close to Portland. Only 45 mins from my house. The campground is on the popular Clackamas River where lots of day-users come to float and kayak. The day use areas can get overrun. The campground is very close to the lake which is a great spot to put in a kayak or SUP or go swimming. 

The sites were forested, spacious and private. The actual park is huge. Lots of people riding horses on trails. There's a big off leash dog area and a disc golf course-that I did not play. A nice overlook area to have a picnic, see three mountains and watch the people float down the river. 

The dump station could use an upgrade.

Found an opening here on a July weekend when everything else on the coast was booked. This is a super cute place with vintage RVs for rent. I suggest doing that instead of bringing your own rig. The sites are super close to one another and my neighbor appeared to be a long-term resident. They were so close I could hear their TV and smell their cigarette smoke from my van.

The other neighbors here were wonderful. Good thing! We were right on top of one another. 

The shower facility was  very nice. There's a small store with vintage things for sale. Full hook ups. 

It's a short walk or drive to the beach. 

Wish I'd taken some pics of the vintage trailers because they're really cool.